Studio: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment
Release Date: 8/26/2025
Rating: R
Film Grade: C-
The Story: Henry Broadway travels to a prison in the Montana territory to see his father as he’s about to be executed for a crime he claims he never committed. His last wish is for Henry to avenge his death by killing the sheriff that framed him, allowing his soul to rest in peace.
Henry spends the rest of his savings traveling by stagecoach to the small town of Trinity, Montana where he’ll find out that there’s much more to his father’s story than what he was told; some of which will be relayed by a mysterious stranger who claims to have known his father very well.
My Take: I was a huge fan of Westerns in my younger years, but my interest waned as the genre fell out of favor over the past few decades. Even so, there are new ones coming out every couple of years that live up to those stories of the past. Given the acting talent behind this movie, I had high hopes that this might be one of them.
Problems appear early in writer Lee Zachariah’s first feature script, with dialog that verges on cringe-worthy. I was able to look past that, but other problems surface shortly thereafter. The movie is only a little over 90 minutes long, but beyond the three main characters, it throws in a surprising number of others including harlots, a doctor, deputy, barkeep, Native American fugitive, gang of bullying brothers, and a priest, among others. With that many players, it’s hard to allow enough time to know and understand the three primary men of the story, let alone create anything but the most obvious and simplistic of motivations.
Compounding that, the script is overly convoluted, not to be confused with complex. The story’s entire conflict could have been negated by a single whispered line of dialog between father and son. Instead, an unlikely series of events are used to manufacture drama, tension, and mystery, all fueled by the tropes we’ve seen before in these stories: double crosses, gun fights, ambushes, hidden gold, bar fights, etc.
There are some highlights here. The movie was shot on location in Montana, so the authenticity of the surroundings is palpable, from the dusty town structures, to the mountains, to streams and woods, it transports the viewer to the era. I can’t say quite the same for the interiors. As real as the outdoors felt, the inside shots felt superficial and flat. Sure, there are antique set pieces, but it all looked surprisingly clean, rather than reflecting gritty, hard, living conditions.
The other positive is from the actors. Brandon Lessard plays Henry as a naïve young man; thrust into a situation he’s not cut out to handle. His physical appearance, delivery, and demeanor come across as a gentle mix of Elijah Wood and Robert Pattinson. In contrast, Samuel L. Jackson is the enigmatic St. Christopher, a man offering friendship to the clueless whelp while also giving us an uncomfortable feeling as we contemplate his motives. In between the two is Pierce Brosnan as the mature and practical Sherrif of Trinity. He boosts the script with his presence and delivery, giving his lines some gravitas as the twisting plot unfolds.
As solid as the acting was, the director paces the scenes in an overly slow way, such as by using establishing shots that hang on too long. Those could have been tightened up by just including some dialog or other action to propel the plot. Actions scenes are blocked in an almost clumsy way that cuts down the drama. Because of the way it was shot, even prolific editor Lee Smith (1917, Inception, Spectre, Interstellar, among many others) couldn’t cut the film into something cleaner and more impactful than what we get.
Visuals: As nice as the location shooting was, I thought the indoor filming was superior to the outdoor work. That’s and odd combination, since the actual look of sets and props felt off, but the lighting, framing, skin tones, and costumes all looked sharper and more natural while indoors. In contrast, the impressive vistas have an almost dull, hazy look to them. This is a good, but not outstanding presentation.
Audio: The disc’s DTS-HD MA: English 5.1 soundtrack does a fair job recreating gunshots. Dialog is clear and easy to understand. The musical score is an odd mix, sometimes giving the feel of a traditional Western, but offputtingly modern at others. The tempo largely fits the action and helps amp up a bit of excitement when called for. This is an adequate mix, with nothing particularly standing out, good or bad.
Special Features: None
Final Verdict: The movie’s description had me hooked and I was really looking forward to it. The execution just didn’t work for me. The large number of underdeveloped characters and many plot points kept me from connecting to the story. That’s despite the solid performances from the three main actors, who were saddled with a script that could have used another polish or two.
If you’re a huge fan of Westerns or don’t mind a plot that’s mostly driven by the need to set up action pieces, you may enjoy this one more than I did. I do give credit to the studio for trying to revitalize the underused genre.
Fun Fact: Two of Brosnan’s children, sons Dylan and Paris, appear with him in the movie.
Don’t watch the trailer past the first 45 seconds if you want to preserve the surprises:
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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